<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>he lights my cigarettes for me by orphan_account</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24658651">he lights my cigarettes for me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, Ficlet, M/M, One Shot, Post-Timeskip, Relationship Problems, Secret Relationship, Short &amp; Sweet, Smoking</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:15:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,169</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24658651</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Usopp is exasperated by Sanji's fear of not being hetero, so Sanji does something stupidly impulsive in the name of love.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Usopp/Vinsmoke Sanji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>107</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>he lights my cigarettes for me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HELLO I wrote this in a little over one day, I apologize if it's unintelligible.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>          Sanji’s hands have been sore and shaking for days.</p><p>He isn’t exactly sure why, but Chopper had chalked it up to the usual inevitable overwork combined with sleep deprivation and promptly scolded him for not getting enough rest. He’d wished he could explain himself, elaborate that if that truly was the source that late at night was the only proper time he got to be with his boyfriend, but Chopper didn’t know he had a boyfriend, nobody did, so he’d kept his mouth shut and endured the reprimand.</p><p>He loves his boyfriend, “to the moon and back” as he adores saying when they gaze at the vast twilight above their ship in the middle of the night, but some deep, steadfast terror within his conscience tells him the others wouldn’t. Well, they <em> did  </em>love Usopp, obviously, but the concept of him being with Sanji, the idea of Sanji being anything but a ladies’ man...would they be able to come to terms with that? Or would they drive the two men out of the crew for such a thing? The cook shudders at the thought of losing his family over something so trivial, but the shiver adds to the annoying little tremor already running through his hands and he gets further away from his goal of lighting a single smoke as he drops his lighter. </p><p> </p><p>          Usopp bites his lip at the pitiful scene in front of him, cooing a gentle, tired  “Sweetheart…” as his lover groans in dismay when his thumb misses the button once again. As sad as it is, it’s also been happening for almost twenty minutes now and he’s become impatient. He’s offered to help maybe five times now, but Sanji, being the second most stubborn bastard the sniper knows just under himself, has refused every single time without fail. He wants to wait it out, get to spend time with the blonde while they’re still alone, but the others sound like they’re having so much fun in the kitchen, plus he’s starting to crave a light snack after having spent all day in his factory...</p><p>          “Sanji, honey”</p><p>          “I’ve got it.”</p><p>          “No, you haven’t.”</p><p>Sanji’s brow furrows in subtle vexation, “I swear, let me just rest my hand for a minute, then I’ll-” </p><p>          “<em> Honey </em>.” </p><p>Before the taller man has even gotten a chance to look up from his trembling hands, let alone squeak out any sort of protest, Usopp’s taken the lighter from his grip and flicked it on, reaching into Sanji’s back pocket to take his own little reward before igniting his stunned boyfriend’s cigarette with a frustrated puff of smoke to his face. He’s not surprised as much by the man’s impatience, nor his attitude, as much as he is by the shimmer of light in his soft brown eyes the little flame between them has created. Even though he’s irritated, his gaze is still gentle, still...full of light. Sanji chuckles, which surprises the sniper, seeing as he just blew smoke directly into the guy’s face out of pure immature anger.</p><p>          “I think I’m rubbing off on you too much.”</p><p>Usopp rolls his eyes, “Let’s hope I can rub it back onto you.”</p><p>His witty remark earns a guffaw from his beloved, who leans in to kiss the younger on the forehead when he reaches back to place the lighter back in his pants pocket. </p><p> </p><p>          “I love you, you know that?”</p><p>There’s a silence between them. Sanji’s too busy nuzzling up to his love like a needy tomcat to notice it at first, but when he recognizes how uncomfortably stiff his usually equally affectionate boyfriend is it clicks, and after it clicks his chest begins to hurt. </p><p>          “...Do you not...know that I love you?” He whimpers, giving Usopp a fearful, pleading gaze, “I love you, I really do. You mean so much to me.” </p><p>As he searches the pirate’s gaze desperately, nervously, sorrowfully, he feels his heart aching harder. There’s no more light. </p><p>          “I mean, I...You don’t…” Usopp stammers nervously, throwing up vague hand gestures to try to accentuate the point he just can’t seem to make, “I know you love me! I just…”</p><p>          “Just what?”</p><p>          “I...It’s hard to know you love me when you’re scared of anyone else knowing you do. I just feel like something you’re ashamed of.”</p><p>Sanji’s heart can no longer ache, because it’s now broken. </p><p>This isn’t what he wanted, this isn’t what he thought would happen. He’s screwed up big time, he’s <em> been </em> screwing up big time, and he really wishes Usopp would blow some more smoke in his face. He has to fix this, and <em> now </em>. </p><p> </p><p>          “I love you so much, I do! I can prove it!”</p><p>          “You-what?”</p><p>          “I’m not going to be scared anymore! For you!”</p><p>Usopp is justifiably terrified when Sanji shoves the two of them apart and makes a mad dash for the kitchen, leaving his boyfriend to stomp out the cigarette he’d tossed behind before racing to catch up to the cook. He struggles to keep up with such a long-legged idiot, only managing to get on his heels when he stumbles and nearly trips, but now that they’re side-by-side he recognizes that he doesn’t have any plan, especially because he doesn’t even know what Sanji’s planning to do. It’s too late to even <em> consider </em>making a plan now, because the blonde’s slamming the doors to kitchen open, panting and wide-eyed and riding out the very end of his burst of confidence to announce to the crew now staring at him nervously, </p><p>          “I love my boyfriend!!” </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>          The room goes silent. Sanji wheezes as the rush of boldness leaves his body with his breath, his entire body now trembling harder than his hands ever had. He’s not done, although his voice is tender and shaky, barely enough to be heard, and his throat almost hurts too much to talk. That little terror is now swallowing his thoughts, that ache in his chest has returned and is almost debilitating, but he’s <em> not done </em>.</p><p>          “...He lights my cigarettes for me...a-and I love him so much. I wouldn’t trade him for the world.”</p><p>The cook glances anxiously at Usopp, who gives him a warm grin and a proud kiss on the cheek. </p><p>          “I love you too, dork.” </p><p> </p><p>          There’s questions from the crew, of course. Hundreds of questions, none of them ill-intentioned or disparaging, just curious and surprised by the uncharacteristic show the couple had just put on for them. However, there’s no pressure on Sanji’s chest anymore, no more darkness plaguing his head, and the lightness of his mind and his body makes it easier to genuinely say what he’s thinking, as well as what he's been yearning to say. He loves answering questions now, and especially loves answering questions about his boy. </p><p>When Usopp holds his hand, squeezes it gently, he doesn’t feel any shaking or soreness anymore. He doesn’t feel much of anything, he doesn’t think about much of anything. It’s all just love. That's all he worries about: love.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>